Take a journey across space and time through the multi-dimensional door that is the soul of my being... For the Salik (Arabic for traveller, also a Sufi term for a searcher) merges in him the raw qualities of an earthly being nicely blended with the divine qualities that belong to Him, the Alpha and Omega of everything.

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This blogspot is a medium to share my thoughts and adventures apart from promoting my books. Below are the books which have been written or authored and published by myself.

"Berpetualang ke Aceh: Mencari Diri dan Erti".

ISBN 983-42031-0-1, Jun 2006

"Berpetualang ke Aceh: Membela Syiar yang Asal"

ISBN 983-42031-1-x, May 2007

"Berpetualang ke Aceh: Sirih Pulang ke Gagang?"

ISBN 978-983-42031-2-2, November 2007

It is interesting to note that while these books were written in Malay it has gained enough attention to merit being part of the collections of the American Library of Congress and National Library of Australia. Look here and here.

While the first three books were published by my own company, the fourth titled "Rumah Azan" was published in April 2009 by a company called Karnadya with the help of the Malaysian national literary body Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka. It features beautiful pictures along with stories behind selected mosques which could be related to the history of Islam and the Malays alongside the formation of the Malaysian nation. Look at the article A collaboration of old collegemates - the book "Rumah Azan".

Like my fourth book "Rumah Azan", the sixth book "Kereta Api Menuju Destinasi" is also a coffee-table book which is published by the company Karnadya with the cooperation of Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (the main Malay literary body in Malaysia). Coming out January 2011 it features pictures and stories on the adventure travelling by train to all of Peninsular Malaysia along with the interesting places which could be reached this way.

The "Berpetualang ke Aceh" series of novels could be obtained in e-book form. Enter http://www.e-sentral.com/, click general novel and go to page 4. You can also type the word "Aceh" at the search box. Or click straight Book 1, Book 2 and Book 3.

Sometime in 2008 I found a number of old friends from my A Levels college days suddenly keeping in touch, some of them I haven't seen since more than 20 years ago. That sparked some fond memories. So I wrote a series of articles on what I remember most from those days.

Guess whose foot it is jutting out in the picture with a view of palm trees way down below? I like this picture so much that I'd like it to be shared here. For the rest of the pictures and the relevant story, click...

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About Me

A pure mathematics graduate from the University College of London who previously never made any writing except what was demanded at examinations suddenly found himself totally losing interest in hard science, pulled instead towards spiritual thoughts. Not knowing what next, he became a journalist for the major Malaysian daily The New Straits Times and actually stayed there for 5 years. After a while circumstances initiated him into the mysteries of Sufism, another word for Islamic spirituality. Also he was pulled to study his roots so much so that he started visiting and sleeping at old tombs all around Malaysia.
Now he is a full-time writer but prefers to call himself a full-time bum as it is easier to explain what he is up to that way...

Greetings all. Tonight, I'm glad to inform that I'm on the verge of ending my current travelling trip up north covering certain plac...

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A love for horses

Would you believe it if I said I used to be quite a prominent equestrian journalist? Well, to be frank, there wasn't many (if not any) equestrian journalists when I was still active then, years back. Still, I managed to carve quite a name among the circle although I was just a sports journalist covering equestrian events. Here are some of the old articles I've wrote then...

I was born in 1970 at the idyllic town of Muar, Johor. That was where I stayed and grew up at... until I left for boarding school 12 years later. Thus the town is very special to me. Here are some relevant pictures for all to view...

I have always been fascinated by rivers or sungai in Malay. With the big ones (or the bigger parts normally downriver close to the estuary) I am astounded by the vastness, with the smaller ones (or the parts upriver close to the source normally at highlands) I am often charmed by the rapids and waterfalls. Here's a list of rivers I have visited in Peninsular Malaysia. The ones I have featured in articles come with relevant links while a few are waiting to be featured with future visits, God willing.North West Coast (Perlis, Kedah, Pulau Pinang)

The links above are listed with explanations (if any) available only in the articles itself. Perhaps it is more convenient to follow the stories on rivers and find what it is all about through the following links. Do note though that the East Coast section below did not included 3 more rivers added 6 Sept 2011.

Some time in March 2011 I visited this building called Millenium Tower in Putrajaya for the first time ever and found out it has interesting displays on history. Since then I vowed to come again to Putrajaya to take photos of the displays, history with murals etched on glass panels and almost a month later I finally did it. As it turned out I took pictures of all 143 or so panels. Here are links to the articles made displaying what's available...

In my profile, I did mention a liking for Sufism or Islamic mysticism... or for want of a better word, Tasawuf said to originate from an Arabic word (can't actually remember what) which denotes coarse wool. This refers to wearing clothings of coarse wool so as to humble oneself and not to be distracted by worldly needs and luxuries. So what is Tasawuf all about? It is about discovering one's real self... the spiritual self that exist beyond the world of the senses and thus understanding one's real place in the grand scheme of things. So here are some Tasawuf-related materials I've put in this blog...

As the title suggest, when the bug bites there's not much I can do to stop myself from going down (or up) the road to wherever or whatever place that could slow down the jitters... even when it means having to walk miles up a mountain at night alone in the dark! Do have a look at the travel stories sometimes written like a normal travel-log, sometimes with reflection of thoughts that covers history up to more esotoric matters...

The Perak trips..

The title should be self explanatory. After all, Perak is the state where my father was born at and that's where lies the ancestral family home, at least on the staff side. It's just that I grew up mainly down south in Muar the village of my mum. But the minute (that is when I'm over 30 years-old) I realised the significances of my Perak ancestry, I made a point to go there once in a while especially to visit ancient tombs of significant personalities of royal and saintly status. Here are articles on some of the trips...

This trip started with me rushing by bus from Kuala Lumpur to attend a cousin's wedding in Terengganu before heading for Kelantan. Then circumstances forced me to head for Pahang before going down to Johor for a break and to celebrate the Aidil Adha feast with the family. After that only I could have a longer continous period of travelling in Kedah, Pulau Pinang and Perlis before ending the trip in Perak. But not before a solo climb at night was made up the legendary (and quite scary!) Mount Jerai...

This particular trip made in July 2007 was supposed to last only a week but got stretched to almost a month covering 4 nights in the state of Pahang, 5 in Kelantan, 6 in Kedah and 7 in Perak. Below are some of the stories...

The Peninsular Malaysia round trips to commemorate the succesful publishings of all 3 books under the "Berpetualang ke Aceh" trilogy of novels

This is a rather long series of travellings made to close an important chapter in life, the succesful publishings of my "Berpetualang ke Aceh" (could be literally translated as "The adventurous trip to Aceh") trilogy of novels, beginning with BKA I which has the sub-title "Mencari Diri dan Erti" ("In seach of self and meaning", published Jun 2006), BKA II or "Membela Syiar yang Asal" ("Advocating the true faith", May 2007) and latest BKA III "Sirih Pulang ke Gagang?" ("The prodigal son returns?", Nov 2007).

It practically started unplanned. Shortly after BKA III entered the Malaysian market, I felt like visiting my parents in Muar, Johor. While there, a friend who often commute to and fro Kuala Lumpur and Kluang for work asked to see me at the later town. But when I was ready to meet him after having travelled 40km south of Muar to Batu Pahat he was somewhere else! So I decided to go to Pontian first and from there ended up making a whole round of Johor passing through all the main districts.

Soon enough, I made a round-trip up North. Having gone down South and then up North the next natural step is to travel to the East Coast and complete a 'trilogy' of travelling series (perhaps to reflect the trilogy of novels too)! And thus over a period of 4 months or so with some rest in between and other things, I practically made my way up most of Peninsular Malaysia. Below are links to the resulting articles written in this blogspot and the Malay one CATATAN SI MERAH SILU. There are also accompanying articles made in the blogspot SENI LAMA MELAYU (MALAY OLDEN ART) but not listed here. Feel free to look it up yourself ya... :]

The Southern parts (Johor)

Now I remember. It started as a holiday visit to my parents' place in Muar... for the Islamic feast and celebration of Aidil Adha at the end of 2007. Whatever, circumstances made me want to press on to other places. The result, I travelled the whole of Johor and visited some places I have never ever been at although I practically grew up and spent almost half my life in the state!

About 2 weeks after completing the Johor trip, I met a friend from Ipoh who had jobs to be done in Kuala Lumpur. The friend planned to meet an older friend in Yan, Kedah the coming weekend and invited me to join. Besides he had some assigments up North for the following 3 days. So I followed suit and used this opportunity to visit some places including old tombs around Sungai Petani and Alor Setar and also went up Mount Jerai, another legendary mountain.

As it turned out, the travelling got extended when I decided to drop down at Taiping, Perak while this friend returned to Ipoh. Next I went to Kuala Kangsar and then Sungai Siput. From there I made a rather long one-day trip by car around Perak through Ipoh, Tanjung Tualang, Kampung Gajah, Bota Kanan and Beruas before returning to Sungai Siput via Manong and Kuala Kangsar.

The trip got extended some more when I got the urge to go to Pengkalan Baru, Pantai Remis dan Segari. Once that's done then only I could rest a bit at Lumut which I went to through Damar Laut. And soon enough this part of travelling were closed in Teluk Intan, the place where my father was born at...

The East Coast (Pahang, Terengganu and Kelantan through Negeri Sembilan!)

The completion of the Northern leg of travelling saw me getting busy with many things including having to attend weddings and the launching of a book fund at the Dewan Bahasa Pustaka (the national body in-charge of promoting Malay writings) involving movers and shakers of the local literature scene. Whatever, thank God after a month of delay I finally got to start the East Coast journey which should close the series of post-BKA travellings, that is the travelling made after succesfully publishing all 3 books under the "Berpetualang ke Aceh" series of novels.

I decided to start this trip from the state of Negeri Sembilan... From a place I've heard of since the last few years but never stepped foot on until this trip. There lies and ancient route involving the meeting of 2 rivers, a short-cut route for travellers and traders to get from the West Coast to the East Coast without having to sail down Johor and circumvent the Peninsular's southern tip!

So enjoy this, the stories that close a major chapter in life. The 3 books might have been published in a space of 2 years but the actual writing was started early 2004 with contents including a life time of adventures, travellings, observations, experiences and thoughts. Ah, I feel so glad to have these all done and let many things off my chest. Anyway go on and enjoy the articles! :]

A trip done 1-12 April 2013 to Arabia. After landing in Jeddah me, wife and our party were whisked by bus to Medina where lies the Nabawi mosque and tomb of the Prophet. A few days later we went to the city of Mecca to do our umrah, a Muslim pilgrimage act of worship at the mosque called Masjidil Haram where lies the building of Ka'abah, the focal point for all Muslims to face to in their prayers.

An adventurous trip done by taking all sorts of vehicles bringing the wife and children including the then 2 and a half-month old Muhammad Alauddin Johan to many places effectively making a round trip through most of the Indonesian island of Jawa (or Java). The trip was started on Labour Day, that is on 1st May 2012 in Surabaya by making visits to the tombs of every Wali Songo (the nine famous saints of Jawa) and a number of places in between before it was furthered to Jakarta. After resting for 3 nights at that capital of Indonesia it was continued by making forays to Bogor and then Bandung followed by places in the southern parts of the island to form a large round completed in Surabaya 14th May...

A relative's wedding in Singapura made an auntie want to go there by train from Kuala Lumpur. As the auntie was all alone I decided to accompany along with the wife and baby Al-Rasyid. While the auntie cancelled the trip last minute we decided to press on with a cousin as replacement. While then 1 year 1 month old Al-Rasyid got his first train trip we got to go to many interesting places where I had a number of deja vus.

On 14 March 2012 a series titled "Kembara Johor-Riau" (the Johor-Riau travel) has been completed after running for almost 3 months in my main blogspot CATATAN SI MERAH SILU. As usual supporting stories were made in this blogspot. The series is on a trip to the south, that is to Johor and Singapura which also brough me, the wife and kid to the island of Bentan in Indonesia. The journey which was made 10-18 November 2011 also brought us to Pahang via the east coast of Johor. This is the collection of articles...

Sometime end of July 2010, 2 weeks before the Muslim fasting month of Ramadhan I received a call from someone I know in Brunei. She has not contacted me for a while and suddenly she invited me and family to come to Brunei, all expenses taken care of... so I took the invitation...

A journey covering a number of places in West Kalimantan 8-12 June 2015. This is the first time I arrived at this province which has an area bigger than Peninsular Malaysia. In 5 days me and a friend covered an area about the size of the state of Johor. We visited the old sultanates of Pontianak, Mempawah, Sambas and Landak.

Earlier 2010 I received signs and pointers about an ancestor which I haven't paid much attention before. This made me want to visit the tomb of a Sultan of Perak which I haven't ever visited, a tomb situated at a very secluded part besides the Perak river. I wanted to do this during the Maulidur Rasul, Prophet Muhammad's birthday but instead was invited to celebrate it in Aceh. It was one and half a month later that I finally had the time to make the visit. While I'm at it might as well visit the tomb of every Sultan with then 6-month old baby boy Al-Rasyid in tow!

After more than a month being 'trapped' inside the house taking care of the wife who had just given birth, I exacted 'revenge'. A journey was made bringing the wife and our baby Muhammad Al-Aminul Rasyid going around Johor and Singapura November 2009 when he was only around 40 days old!

During the fasting month of Ramadhan in 2009 me and wife when to Kelantan to see our kids there. We then brought them to a number of places in Terengganu before returning them back to Kelantan as we head back to the Klang Valley via Cameron Highlands...

For Muslims especially in Malaysia the Muslim festive month of Syawal celebrated after the fasting month of Ramadhan is a peak if not THE peak of the year. We call it Hari Raya (literally festive day) or simply Raya. It is celebrated throughout the whole month of Syawal and this year is special as baby Al-Rasyid is around. Last Syawal he was still in mummy's tummy...

This big bike of mine which was bought ini 1997 has brought me all over Peninsular Malaysia. But later it was stranded due to engine failure for 5 years, only in the middle 2008 it was repaired till it could go around again. Since then I have only rode it around the Klang Valley and the state of Selangor, at most it has been ridden up to my birthplace in Muar. But at the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadhan in 2012 I rode it far to many places including climbing mountains to cover a distance of more than 1,400 km!

A journey made to cover a number of locations in Kelantan, Langkawi and Perak 7-12 December 2012. The trip was made to honour a request to give lecture at the mosque of Sultan Ismail Petra, Kota Bahru, Kelantan. It was extended to the island of Langkawi to bring the kids for vacation before returning home via Perak.

A small trip made 27-31 December 2013 to attend a Malay-related function in Pulau Pinang while arranging for the 9th HIKMAH (my NGO outfit) function is continued 21-23 February 2014 to attend and ensure success of the actual function...

A trip made to the north of the Peninsular 25-29 December 2014 becoming me and family's last adventure of the year. The trip was made to honour a request made for me to share a bit of knowledge at a function in Pulau Pinang. We then took the opportunity to visit some places in Kedah as we have not been there for a number of years. Who could have thought we had an accident in Kuala Muda...

Without me asking, my beloved wife arranged a trip to Aceh, so that I could take care of outstanding matters as reflected in the writings in my Malay novel series "Berpetualang ke Aceh". A good friend made the trip easy, providing us with the best accomodation and means to travel comfortably and safely. Compiled are relevants articles from all my three blogspots...

End of January 2010 me and wife went againt to Aceh, this time bringing our baby Al-Rasyid who was then only 3 and a half months old! Also with us was a companion who had always wanted to go there. That allowed us to share expenses going about to many places including those I've missed before.

Suddenly a friend in Aceh called and asked us to come celebrate the Maulidur Rasul, Prophet Muhammad's birthday. She was ready to cover all expenses and so me, wife and baby went off 2 days later accompanied by 2 other friends, a husband and wife of writers...

This in turn is the collection of links of articles under the "Jejak 'Berpetualang ke Aceh'", a series in my main blogspot CATATAN SI MERAH SILU with some supporting articles here. The series which took more than 4 months to present (15 Nov 2011- 25 Mac 2012) was based on a trip me and the family made 2-13 November 2011 to trace back the places I have visited alone in my first journey to Aceh January 2004. For the record the old travel has been made the background for my trilogy of novels "Berpetualang ke Aceh" (literarily the travel to Aceh) published 2006-2007. Then Aceh was still under emergency military rule and I had to go through plenty of trials and tribulations just to get through.

The trip end of 2011 actually covered more places as from Medan we went to Berastagi, then the island of Pulau Samosir at Lake Toba before returning to Medan. For information, these were never part of the places covered in the travel of 2004. It was after that the tracing process was conducted as places told/mentioned in the books were visited. Apart from that we also stopped at places which I didn't have the time of opportunity to visit in the old trip. Note that we also visited new places which were not covered in my later trips to Aceh, that was in the middle of 2009 followed by one in January then another in February 2010.

A trip in Aceh made 23-30 Mac 2014 with the original intention of bringing my youngest kid Johan to the tomb of Sultan Malikus Saleh, founder of the olden kingdom of Samudera-Pasai. Who knows that it also saw the 10th function of HIKMAH my NGO outfit, conducted at the Museum of Aceh in Banda Aceh? And the trip was made more special with my mum and dad coming...

Around 10th of February I was invited by a reader who could be said to be an adopted younger brother to follow him and a group of youngsters looking for historical places in Aceh. They wanted to make the journey on 13-15 Feb. But I felt that was too short and chosed to return on 19 Feb. For information this is my 7th trip in Aceh. Like the first on January 2004 I didn't bring family members. After the said group returned my friends in Aceh took care of my needs and brought me to a number of places. They also took advantage of my presence to conduct an event in which I became the only speaker to impart knowledge.

When Al-Rasyid was almost 2 months old his sister and brother who are staying in Kelantan came and followed us out. For the first time ever we as a family managed to travel around together to a number of places...

A series of travels made to Pahang, Terengganu and Kelantan January 2009 starting evening 31 December 2008, the first time with the new wife after we were safely established in wedlock on 11 December 2008, that is 20 days before the trip! Anyway the trip was made to visit the wife's children with her ex-husband, in Kelantan. While we're at it, might as well go around Kuantan followed by towns in Terengganu before entering Kelantan.

A month and a half after the trip to visit tombs of Sultans came the urge to travel on the west side of Perak. The tombs of Sultans are on the east as according to an old treaty all Sultans of Perak could only rule from the right upriver side of the Perak river. Such was the actual condition of Perak until changes came to give rise to current borders.

The visit to tombs of Sultans of Perak in April was still flawed. There was one tomb which could not be reached as it was covered by thick growth. News then came that the tomb has been cleared. This is an opportunity to settle a few things unsettled about Perak.

A trip to the north made during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadhan in the year 2010 with the original intention of taking the latest pictures of the tomb of Sultan Muzaffar Shah I of Kedah, said by some parties to be the same person as the legendary figure called Merong Mahawangsa. The trip by car was extended up to Hatyai in Thailand. And it covered much more places while I strive to meet a number of targets and expectations...

Mission started with a trip to Pulau Pinang to solve a case in court Monday morning 29th June 2015. At the time it was already the 2nd week of Muslim fasting month of Ramadhan, Since I had to go so far up north might as well take the chance to visit a number of places. On the way to return home via Perak I also visited tombs of previous Sultans of Perak and related places following the footsteps that must be taken by a newly-coronated Sultan of Perak. This is taking advantage of the coronation of the 35th Sultan of Perak, Sultan Nazrin Shah which was held early May. The tombs and places are all in tip-top condition with roads leading to it having been repaired in time for the coronation.

A trip to the East Coast which brought us to lodge 1 night in Pahang, 2 in Terengganu, 3 in Kelantan followed by 2 in Perak and 1 in Selangor before returning home. As I drove the car 2,374.9 km, a personal record, the trip made 26 March-4 April 2012 saw our baby Johan who was just about 40 days old having his first adventure...